Followers

Facebook Official Page

The Dragons had always been
worshiped by humans either as evil creatures who seek no more than
destruction and havoc or as powerful, good and protective creatures
which would reward those who really worth it…

A couple of months had passed since
Anael and his friends went to Brazil to stop Zoe. Life has become
regular for the Knights: their lives were organized regarding their
school, their free time and saving Guatemala. The Guatemalan
President had given them safe conduct to act wherever they thought
necessary, working with the police in order to help public security
as a reward for their actions in Brazil.

It was October, finally; a very special
month for two Knights: Anael, well-known as Elite Dragon, and
Altagracia, the Lotus Flower. October was Anael’s month, for his
birthday was on October 31st, the Halloween day. His
mother would finally have a day off to organize a party for him and
give more attention to her children, for she didn’t do that on
Altagracia’s day.

On that day, things were working as
they normally did: at precisely 5 of the mourning, Anael was already
awaken, sitting on his bed, ready to start the day as he usually did.
He stood up and looked at his drawer, taking a sleeveless, turtleneck
white and turquoise shirt with a light turquoise baggy pants and a
light blue and yellow cord. He rapidly changed his clothes, folding
his pajamas carefully. Then, he took a few steps to the western part
of his bedroom and took a small stereo and one CD with him.

Anael was a capoeirist. Capoeira
is a well-known Brazilian martial art which mixes dance with fighting
moves, and it was created by slaves in the senzals (places in
which the slaves slept and stayed if they were not working on the
sugar cane plots) and they played it as a form of protest to the
abuse they suffered; however, they couldn’t get caught fighting, so
they under covered the style making it a dance. Anael had a master,
Madam Thunder*, who started teaching him capoeira
at the age of six. Madam Thunder was a man on his 40’s who went out
of Brazil to discover the world and fell in love with Guatemala. He
was a transvestite, who fought as well as he could make himself pass
for a woman without being discovered. He was as serious as funny, and
for that Anael loved him and his lessons, making him a great
capoeirist.

The Guatemalan was outside of his house
stepping on the grass. The watch on his right arm marked 5:10 a.m.;
he smiled, for he was on schedule to start his first round of
training. He put the stereo on the ground and opened the place in
which he could put the CD, and so he did. Then, he lowered the volume
in order to avoid waking his neighbors up, yet he could hear the
music perfectly. He smiled and prepared the dummy; the cool winds
were blowing on his face, making his smile even bigger and more
beautiful. When everything was set, he looked at his training target.

“Let’s start the day!” Said the
Guatemalan doing the rhythmic moves of capoeira, hitting the dummy
with his feet and elbows in the rhythm of the Brazilian instrumental
song.

The music made him remember some
events. As he made the fighting movements following the track, his
mind was going somewhere else, some days not that far from the
present day…

Some Weeks before…

Anael and Altagracia had arrived home
through Kaiser’s vortex. Their mother was expecting them with a
raging face, and they knew he was going to lecture them. The
Moon’Seeker siblings entered on the house slowly as their mother
guided them to the living room; she did not allow them to transform
into their civilian clothes, for she wanted to see their undercover.

“Sit down. Both of you.” She said
sitting on a dark green armchair next to the sofa. Anael and
Altagracia sat on the sofa with worried countenances “You two owe
me explanations. Especially you, Anael.” She couldn’t keep such
calm countenance; she started screaming “How could you do this to
your sister?! Don’t you realize how dangerous it is?! You’ve been
lying to me for a long time! Why didn’t you tell me the truth?! Why
haven’t you trusted me?! Am I not your mother?! Answer me!”

Altagracia held Anael’s arm with
strength, showing how scared she was at that scene. Their mother used
to be calm and quiet, so it was scary to see her so enraged. Anael
took a deep breath and prepared to answer her in calm and controlled
tone.

“I… I couldn’t tell you the
truth…” His hands were trembling “I thought that it would risk
your life… I didn’t want to make you worry about us…”

“It was not Anael’s idea to make me
one of the Knights!” Interrupted Altagracia with tears in her eyes
“Please mom, don’t punish him!” She closed her eyes and let the
tears roll over her face as she kept holding her brother’s arm “He
is good to me, and he didn’t want me to become a hero as he is… I
made my way to become one of them so that I could still be close to
him…”

“You knew you couldn’t allow her to
do so” Said the mother to Anael in inflexible tone “It is an
unnecessary risk you guys have been taking. “ She put two of her
fingers on her head as a signal of headache “Why you, my children?
Why? Isn’t it enough the fact that your father died because of his
heroic deeds?”

This time Anael got angry.

“Don’t talk this way!” Hissed the
Guatemalan Dragon with anger in his eyes
“You know it was his job! ...” A tear rolled over the left side
of his face “For me, being a Knight is not ‘fooling around’ or
risking my life for nonsense! We are­­­ committed with
the security of this country and others on Central America and the
world!”

Maria Moon’Seeker, their mother,
stood up with a serious countenance; she walked two steps near them
with apathy.

“Then you should realize that secrets
have a price; they are not for free.” She left the room and went
upstairs in order to enter in her room; Anael was still angry, and
his eyes changed to the reptilian form.

­­­“So, this is the way
she’s going to end this conversation?” He hissed angrily and low
“Then it is fine to me.”

***

The Guatemalan Dragon stopped his
practice for a moment to sit on the grass; then, he put his arms over
his knees. His eyes were half open and his countenance showed regret.

“Why does she always end up her
conversations like this?” He whispered to himself “Couldn’t her
be just more comprehensive? ... Talking about Dad… With
Altagracia nearby and crying as she was… That was not fair.
Not at all…” He slowly stood up “Better get going… It is
precisely 6 of the morning, and I have to wake them up…”

Anael turned the stereo off and grabbed
it; he entered on the house and went upstairs to reach his room. When
he arrived there, he put the stereo where it originally were and
opened his drawer again in order to get his school uniform: a short
sleeve white shirt with the school emblem and a pair of jeans; also,
he got a pair of black sneakers with light green details in it, gray
socks and his underwear. After that he went straight to the shower.

He got out few minutes later, dressed
up and ready for another day of classes. Then, he got out of the
bathroom and went to his sister room. Altagracia was sleeping with a
small smile on her face. The Guatemalan smiled at his younger sister
and touched her face smoothly with his left hand. Then, he put the
same hand on her right shoulder and gently shook her.

“Time to wake up, my darling” He
whispered in her ear “We have school today…” Her sister mumbled
something her couldn’t understand. He just smiled, kissed her
forehead, passed his hand through her long, wavy brown hair and left
the room. Just a few steps to the north laid his mother’s room, and
Anael went there; however, he stood up in front of the door. Even
though their discussion had happened almost a month before, he was
still feeling bad about that. He gently knocked on the oak door and
slowly opened it. Instead of going near his mother and wake her up as
he did with Altagracia, he kept distance at her.

“Mom, time to wake up” He said from
the door, leaving afterward.

The diplomat slowly sat on the bed,
preparing herself to do the same ritual Anael did before. The two
children were downstairs at the spoken moment; Altagracia was
watching TV with her backpack ready for school while Anael made their
breakfast. A regular mourning at Moon’ Seeker’s house had
started…

***

The classes went as regular as they
could be – no sign of awkward activities or such. As the teachers
were speaking, explaining their subjects to the students and giving
them the according assignments, Anael kept his mind somewhere else;
his day was brighter than usual, even though he had remembered some
unpleasant events: it was his birthday. His body copied every single
note down, and just part of his consciousness was active in class –
the other part was thinking about getting older and much more dreamer
than usual.

The school bell rang; it was their
break time. The Guatemalan had a dreamy smile on his face, and his
eyes were looking to the ground. He seemed so distracted that he
hadn't noticed a hand touching his right shoulder. He looked up a bit
surprised. It was Thalas.

“Bon anniversaire”
Said the French Guatemalan, congratulating Anael for another birthday
“Here, this is a little gift for you...” He gave Anael a wrapped
package “It seems that there's nothing in the stores that is
suitable for you... Don't be shy, open it!”

The
Guatemalan obeyed his friend's command and tore the present apart;
the package contained a Judas Priest's
“Screaming for Vengeance”
shirt and three CDs from this band – 2008's “Nostradamus”
and 2010's “Live in Japan (Screaming in Japan)” and
2011's “Epitaph World Tour”.
Anael's eyes started to glow in overjoy and excitement.

“You said you
regretted not going to their live concert which took place on
Guadalajara, Mexico” Said Thalas with a discrete smile “Considering
that and also the fact that Judas Priest is the soundtrack of your
life, I decided to buy you those souvenirs... Yet I think they are
far from being what you really deserve...”

“Of course not!”
Said the Guatemalan with his eyes slightly wet “Cut it out! You
gave me simply my dream back! You are the best friend in the entire
world, thank you so much!” He gave him a friendly hug. Then,
Melchior entered on the class, followed by Maya and the Finn twins
Kimi and Kaiser.

“Are we
interrupting something?” Asked Melchior in his joker tone “Happy
birthday, man!” He gave his gift to the Guatemalan, which was a
mini-Anael puppet. '”I suck at gift selection, I admit it! I
had no other idea in mind.” Said the Salvadorian in a mocking, yet
embarrassed tone “However, I think you will like it!”

Anael smiled
discretely at Melchior; then, he put the doll on his right hand and
changed his voice tone in order to fake the puppet's speech “Awesome!
I like being as handsome as my new owner! What do you think?” This
act of Anael made all the Knights, including Anael himself, laugh out
loud in the empty classroom.

“Watch out, we've
got a bad-ass over here!” Said Kimi and Melchior in a mocking tone
between laughs. The, Kimi took a deep breath and approached Anael.

“My turn now.”
The Finn long-haired said with a discrete smile “Hyva
syntimapaivaa” He congratulated Anael in Finnish, giving the
Guatemalan a cyllindrical present box.

“What is that?”
Asked Anael with a happy and curious countenance.

“Figure it out
yourself” Answered Kimi politely “The only hint I can give you is
that its sound is one which you love the most...”

Anael opened the
box rapidly and took a beautiful flute out of it. The musical
instrument was icy blue with some detalis in white; when Anael blown
a C note on it, the sound was different from a standard wooden flute:
it sounded more crystalline.

“What kind of
sorcery is this?” Asked Anael impressed.

“This flute is
unique; I've made it myself using everlasting ice. That's why the
timber seems different from the regular flutes, but is still close to
them. I made it this way so that you'll have a customized version of
your favorite instrument. I hope you have like it...”

“It is
impressive, completely astonishing!” Answered the Guatemalan with
happiness “I can't even describe how I feel right now. Thank you so
much!”

Then, Kaiser
approached, faking an arm-bar on the Guatemalan, scaring him a bit.

“Hyva
syntymapaivaa!” Said Kaiser with a big smile “Relax, I'm not
going to tight my arms on your neck, I'm just fooling around.” He
gave Anael a book with some cheap Chemistry experiments “In tribute
to your scientific curiosity and love for Chemistry. You can even
make gunpowder with this one!” Said Kaiser with a smile “I hope
you make good use of it!”

“I'll use it
wisely...” Anael gave a mischievous smile to all Knights
“...Mythbusters time!” He screamed, making his friends
laugh once more.

Then, it was Maya's
turn. The Honduran seemed too shy to approach and give her gift.

“Come on, Maya”
Said Anael with a smile “I want to see what you have for me. I'm
sure I'll like it...”

Then, Black Witch
gave him a brief smile and offered the package, which clearly had the
shape of a book. When the Guatemalan opened, both happiness and
surprise appeared on his countenance.

“Herpetology
is actually my favorite part of Zoology, as you may know” she said
with her faces blushed “However, your favorite part of the Animal
Kingdom concerns the two-life: Amphibians! So, I've found this book
which is completely related to them,and only them, for you to read
when you are free...I h-hope you enjoy it...”

“I love it,
Maya!” Anael said giving her a hug “Awesome choice; all of you
had made some awesome choices for me. You are the best friends ever!”
All of the Knights gave Anael a hug and started clapping
in a certain rhythmof a certain song:

“I'll think on
something...” Said Anael with a smile “Once again, thanks so much
for the gifts, you guys. This has been the best birthday of my live,
and it hasn't even started!”

***

Anael
went with his friends to a fair related to the All
Saints' Day,
which was going to take place on the following day. All the tents had
nice articles which the Knights spent some time looking at. There
were presentations, holy masses and all kinds of manifestations
related to this holiday.

Times
was passing fast, and Anael didn't notice. He only realized that it
was late when the bells of the main church of the city started to
sing. It was around midnight when that event happened.

“Are they going to sing the bells
now?” Asked Anael out loud, concerned about time.

“Yes, sir!” Answered Thalas as loud
as Anael “When they finish this, we can go straight to our homes!”

The emerald-eyed boy agreed and stayed
close to his friends in the mass of people, waiting for the bells to
sing strong as thunders in the raging storm. The counting began loud
and kept the same tone until it was finished:
10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1!!!
The bells sang strong and beautifully, and people near the church
started to scream and hold themselves in pure overjoy and excitement.

“Happy birthday, Anael!” Screamed the Knights for their leader
“Happy All Saints' Day!”

“Thanks Lord!” Replied Anael happily “Happy All Saints' Day!”

***

Meanwhile, in another Guatemalan city,
far from the capital, the Knights didn't know, but another threat was
about to come.

Quetzaltenango
was the second most populated city of Guatemala, and the
administrative capital of the homonym department of that country.
This city is also called Xelaju,
the indigenous name to refer to this town, also known as Capital of
Central America, for it has the largest amount of indigenous people
in its population.

The city was also
celebrating the holidays; however, the celebrating mood was replaced
by awe and havoc when an enormous crater opened on the ground of the
central park, releasing flames of strange tone of silver and purple.
Some churches had its walls cracking and one was shattered by the
abnormal phenomenon. The ones who stood up near the park could see,
terrified, a trio of shadows on the flames

Three entities came
out of the unholy passage; they were like humans, but they had dragon
wings in different colors, and they were wearing plates underneath
their clothes.

The one on the left
was white and wore a black and violet mask; his hair was short,
straight and navy blue, and his eyes were light blue. He was carrying
a grayish blue sword which seemed to be carrying souls within, for it
appeared to be screaming as its master cut the wind with it,
shattering the nearest buildings and slaying innocent people who
couldn't run away.

The one on the right was also white and
wore a mask which resembled fire; his hair was short, straight and
white, and his eyes were turquoise; differently from his colleagues,
he was not wearing a plate: instead, his chest was nude, and had a
red maple tattooed on it. He was also wearing a pair of gloves which
allowed him to manipulate fire, using it to burn everything on his
path.

The moon was glowing in a terrifying
way, and that was caused by the last entity, on the center; he was
copper-skinned, and his mask was turquoise and yellow. He had short,
curly dark-brown hair and turquoise eyes. He was carrying a scythe
that seemed to allow him to control light, revealing where people hid
and slaying them as they were tracked.

“Let's go, boys!” Said the one
carrying the scythe “Let's show Central America the power of the
mighty Templar Dragons... And for the one they call 'Elite
Dragon'... Let's teach him a
lesson he will never forget...”

To Be Continued...

-----

*Madam Thunder:
An allusion to Madam
Satan,
a transvestite capoeirist from 19th
century in Rio de Janeiro, feared for his ability on Capoeira; he
worked as a security guard from some cabarets while acting as drag
queen. There is a movie made in tribute to this character, who was
interpreted by Brazilian actor Lazaro Ramos.